Do you feel a draft? Mitch Daniels for Prez?

The Christian Science Monitor (see link below) openly opined today that Mitch Daniels' superb State of the Union rebuttal (gotta love the bit about the light bulb) was possibly nothing but a litmus test for a real run (aka read "draft").

In reality, is history repeating itself or a forgotten page right out of L. Keith Bulen's election playbook? This seems very close to the 2003 quasi-strategy in the first part of the Bush the Second's administration, when Daniels publicly refused to return to Indiana (then holding the OMB director post) to run for Governor.

After a seemingly independent groundswell of prominent calls, letters and pledges, Daniels "reluctantly" returned to Hoosierland and captured the gubernatorial brass ring. Will we see a repeat on the federal level in 2012? It IS a great speech! http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2012/0125/Mitch-Daniels-State-of-the-Union-rebuttal-makes-GOP-wonder-What-if/(page)/2

Is Mitch Running for Veep or What?

The response to the opposition President's State of the Union Address is typically reserved for an up and comer in the opposition party. The Republican Congressional leadership announced Jan. 19 that Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels -- who earlier withdrew from any possible presidential candidacy -- will deliver the Republican's response to President Obama.

The questions are: 1) Is Mitch now running for the Republican Vice Presidential Slot; or 2) Is Mitch running for either Secretary of the Treasury or Secretary of Commerce (in a newly revamped Commerce Department)?

Read the press release below from the Congressional Republications and decide for yourself:

Washington -- House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today that Governor Mitch Daniels (R-IN) will deliver the Republican Address to the Nation following the President’s State of the Union address on January 24, 2012.

Governor Daniels, now in his eighth and final year as Indiana’s chief executive, has compiled a solid record of effective government and fiscal responsibility, making him well-suited to outline Republicans’ better solutions to the challenges Americans are facing in this struggling economy.

In his 2012 State of the State Address, Gov. Daniels touted a number of his administration’s accomplishments:

• Indiana has a balanced budget and now enjoys the first AAA credit rating in its history.
• According to CEO Magazine’s rankings of the best states to do business, “Indiana jumped to sixth place from 16th in 2010, giving Hoosiers the third-biggest advance in the rankings in a single year.”
• The magazine notes that “while at least 35 states raised taxes during the recession, Indiana cut them.”Indiana has the fewest state employees per capita in the country.
• In a national survey, 77 percent of Hoosiers described their state government as “efficient,” the second-highest rating in the nation.

“Mitch Daniels is a fierce advocate for smaller, less costly, and more accountable government, and has the record to prove it,” Speaker Boehner said. “As governor, he has turned deficits into surplus, reformed government from top to bottom, and created a better environment for private-sector job creation.

"For making tough choices and keeping his promises, Mitch Daniels is the right choice at the right time to deliver the Republican response to President Obama’s address.”

“As Indiana’s governor, Mitch Daniels helped improve his state’s economy by fostering an environment to create jobs. An eloquent spokesman for limited government, Gov. Daniels knows that President Obama’s three-year experiment in big government has made our economy worse and our future more uncertain, and he knows that Americans want a government that’s simpler, streamlined and secure,” said Leader McConnell. “He is a forceful advocate of pro-growth policies like fundamental tax reform, regulatory reform and energy security.

And he is the right choice to explain the challenges we face and to outline a hopeful, common-sense vision for moving America forward by growing the economy, not the national debt.”

“It’s an honor to be asked. I hope to do the assignment justice,” said Governor Daniels. Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. was elected as the 49th Governor of the State of Indiana in 2004, in his first bid for any elected office. He was re-elected in 2008 to a second and final term, receiving more votes than any candidate for any public office in the state’s history.

Daniels earned a bachelor's degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1971 and his law degree from Georgetown University in 1979. More information on Governor Daniels can be found at the following link: http://www.in.gov/gov/2635.htm.

FINALLY - Authoritative -- and Believable Economic Good News

A few years ago, economist Alan Beaulieu stood in front of a packed Indianapolis crowd at Butler University and blithely predicted that the whole economic world was going to go to hell in a hand basket. A lot of very intelligent people were in that crowd. Most, like me, didn't do what he said. Way in advance he predicted what we now call the "Great Recession" would be The Perfect Storm. It was going to be exceptionally ugly.

Of course, it was.

At the time, I wrote a Chicago-based business column called the Hoosier Coefficient. So I interviewed Beaulieu and wrote a column about his predictions.

They. All. Came. True.

Every last ugly one of them.

Since I didn't do what he said, the economic maelstrom blew out the windows of my little business. We hung on by our fingernails. When he made his prediction, banks were throwing money at me. When he said that in a few months nobody would be loaning anybody anything, some thought him mad. He said cash would be king, and now I know what that means. I REALLY know what that means. In fact, my business became a little bank, as some client invoices started going 30, 60 and in some cases 180 days, before they were paid.

Just like Beaulieu said they would.

Now, in the past year or so, I -- like you -- have heard it all about our economic "recovery." Off and on, double dip or no double dip. It wakes me up at night and sends me to my knees.
Until now.

Wait for it.

Beaulieu's company, The Institute for Trend Research, has made it OFFICIAL. ITR has a 96% accuracy rate. Here it is:

The year 2012 will be the first real year of expansion and recovery.
The recovery and expansion will continue right through the first half of 2013, and then perhaps get a little bumpy.
ITR says we may have a little bump of a recession beginning in the latter half of 2013, but the economy will pick back up and then expand again from 2015 to 2017.
Now, according to ITR, is the time to market, position and SELL. Time to build up cash reserves, leverage favorable interest rates and GROW.

Did I say that I believe this forecast?

How can I not, especially when he was right down the line, point by excruciatingly painful point, when everyone else was saying "Oh, the housing marketing will rebound, we'll be okay" just a few years ago.

I'm ready to believe. And act!

Poignant irony headed for Indy Super Bowl?

With the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants set to square off for the NFC champsionship on January 22, at least one item of irony is guaranteed for the Indy Super Bowl spotlight. If the 49ers win this coming weekend, the Colts former QB "Captain Comeback" in the form of now-49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh with return to Naptown, together with former Colts defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Fangio, of course, was trashed by former Colts GM Bill Polian in 2001, and went on to build a number of top defensive units, including the current 49ers, whose defense is No. 1 in the NFL. Also of course, Polian's Colts defense struggled basically every year after Fangio. A bittersweet homecoming?

And if the NY Giants win, brother Eli gets to play in brother Peyton's house for the NFL uber-brass ring, while the older brother sits this one out in his NFL home town.